Grow
Choosing Seeds It can be argued that your end produce is only as good as the seeds it came from. Online retailers of premium seed. You can also get seeds in novel ways, like from the food that you eat! Starting the Seeds Before planting the seeds, many people recommend letting them soak for 12 hours in a dilute mix of nutrient solution, with a B1 vitamin supplement to encourage rooting. Paper Towel Method In this starting method, the soaked seeds are laid out on a paper towel dampened with nutrient solution. After several days, the seeds will sprout, and you can choose the strongest candidates for placement into your rooting media. The advantage of this method is that it allows selection of the specific plants, and reduces the waste of growing media on seeds that fail to thrive. Do not leave the seeds to grow for too long, once they are hard enough to be handled, carefully cut around the newly formed root of the choicest plants and place this plant along with its paper towel snippet into a rooting cube like Oasis. Be sure that the seedling is placed far enough into the cube or the roots will fail to find grip inside the cube. Rooting Media Method In this method the soaked seeds are placed directly into the rooting media. This media may be any of the following: *Oasis florist foam *Rockwool *Sure to Grow *Jiffy peat tabs You can also root in plain water or nutrient, although I've never tried this. Direct Aggregate Method This method is not recommended for very granular media such as LECA. Perlite, gravel, vermiculite should work. The seeds are placed directly in the system. Of course, consideration of the shifting of seeds should be considered. Transplanting Into Baskets Simply place the rooting cubes into baskets and surround with aggregate media. Do not pack too tightly, add just enough aggregate to hold the rooting cube in place. When using baskets, the aggregate you choose must not be able to fall through the holes. During the first week, the seedlings are very dehydration-sensitive. Do not allow them to dry out. From Soil You can get a head start on your production by purchasing plants that are already grown in soil. You must rinse the soil from the roots. For this reason choose plants that are established, but still small and young. A larger plant has a higher risk of dying after the shock you will give it by rinsing its roots. See this article on transplanting from soil. Cloning Supplies Needed Sharp knife Rooting powder Steps #Selecting the Cutting #Planting #Care After Planting : Plants that cannot be cloned *Strawberries **Strawberries send out "runners" that form small elbows. If you plant these elbows and allow a new plant to grow, you can then cut the runner and transplant the new plant somewhere else. *Raspberries **Raspberries are bred by cutting the second year canes from the plant and planting those in the earth to root. *Orchids **Method unknown? *Bulb-type plants **Flowers and onions are multiplied by harvesting the bulbs after a few seasons